System and method for automatic generation of image distributions

ABSTRACT

A method and system for automatically producing arrangements of two-dimensional extents in a computer-based editing or animation environment is presented. The method consists of defining a set of objects having two or more dimensions, automatically calculating and presenting an arrangement of said objects, and optionally iterating to produce alternative arrangements. The arrangements may use templates to guide the selection of sizes, border colors and transparency, rotation, and other attributes of the contained regions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Appl. # Title Relationship 60/446,751 Method and System for interactive 2D Regions of a composition generated by the current region segmentation invention can be further subdivided using the methods taught in said related application. 60/469,873 Method and system for multipage Compositions generated by the current invention print layout can be subdivided for printing using the methods in said related application. 60/446,752 Method and system for distributing Regions of a composition generated by the current multiple dragged objects invention can be populated with data using the methods taught in said related application. 60/446,757 Method and system for interactive Regions of a composition generated by the current cropping of a graphical object within invention can be cropped using the methods taught a containing region in said related application.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to computer-based editing systems and methods. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for the automatic creation of arrangements of two-dimensional data, such as images within a collage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Digital imaging systems enable the user to manipulate images such as those captured by a digital camera, scanned from paper originals, or generated by other digital imaging software systems. One such operation involves assembling multiple images into a single larger image, forming a “collage”, or an arrangement of images which is itself an image. Software tools, such as the LumaPix::FotoFusion™ software application published by LumaPix, simplify the creation of collages with tools that enable the user to position, resize, and interactively crop images in order to generate the larger collage.

To create a collage, the user typically selects images from a repository, then brings them onto a collage surface, or “Canvas”, where further editing (such as rotating, mirroring, or resizing member images) is possible. The act of producing the collage may be aided by tools such as the subdivision of the canvas into smaller, aligned frames. In many cases the user must manually populate the empty frames with images from the repository. In other prior art, there exist “templates”, or pre-defined arrangements of frames within canvases, which can be populated with a selected set of images with a single action by the user. While this technique requires less work of the user than manual placement, it also restricts the variety of collage compositions to only those alternatives made possible by re-ordering the insertion of selected images into pre-arranged frames in the template; the overall structure of the generated collage remains identical to the template collage. While this uniformity may be desirable for certain applications, the results become monotonous for other applications where variety and uniqueness are appreciated. Novel collage layouts retain visual interest, a desirable trait when viewing collections of collages.

It is therefore desirable to provide a method and system for producing two-dimensional arrangements that obviates or mitigates the disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, it is desirable to provide a method and system for automatically generating unique arrangements of images, ideally with the ability to produce novel varieties of arrangements that have been “inspired” by a selected template layout.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for editing an arrangement of objects in a computer-based editing system, comprising the steps of:

-   -   a) Defining a set of objects to be arranged, each object member         of said set specifying an extent in at least two dimensions     -   b) Automatically calculating and presenting an arrangement of         said set of objects within an extent of at least two dimensions         such that said arrangement of said objects fills said extent,         cropping said images as necessary to allow uniform spacing if         desired.     -   c) Optionally, automatically calculating and presenting         alternative arrangements of said set of objects.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method wherein the user selects a template arrangement determining a set of attributes to be used in the calculation of a new arrangement. The attributes specified by this template may include region border width and/or color and/or transparency and/or texture and/or rotation and/or size distribution.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 a is a schematic of an editing system operating on a single computing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1 b is a schematic of an editing system operating on a client-server basis in a networked system of computing devices according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the user interface of a preferred embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates two alternative styles of collages, or arrangements of data objects exposing a two-dimensional extent: a regular, or aligned collage, and an irregular, or free-floating collage.

FIG. 5 illustrates various techniques for producing alternative arrangements of a given collage, including varying data object order, varying data object size and position, and varying attributes (such as color or thickness) of the frames enclosing the data objects.

FIG. 6 illustrates a resizing of the overall collage extent forced by the variation of the size and position of data objects contained within that collage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a system and method for editing digital information. In the following discussion, the present invention is described for illustrative purposes with reference to the manipulation of raster image information. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention, in its broadest aspect, is applicable to applications other than image applications, and it is not intended that the scope of the invention be so limited.

Computer Imaging System

A computer-based system 1 suitable for use of this invention is schematically depicted in FIG. 1 a. The application system 1 includes a computer 2 that has a central processing unit (CPU) 3 which may include local memory 3 a, static memory 4 such as Read-only memory (ROM), main memory 5 such as Random Access memory (RAM), mass memory 6 such as a computer disk drive, a system bus 7, adaptor(s) for external input devices 8, and a display adapter 9 which may include local memory 9 a. The computer 2 communicates with an alphanumeric input device 10 such as a keyboard, a pointing device 11 such as a mouse for manipulating a cursor and making selections of data via said input adapter 8. The computer 2 communicates with a video display 12 such as a computer monitor via said display adapter 9.

The computer 2 may execute software such as the imaging system described below to allow the system 1 to render high quality graphics images on the monitor 12. The CPU 3 comprises a suitable processing device such as a microprocessor, for example, and may comprise a plurality of suitable processing devices. The graphics adaptor 9 may also be capable of executing instructions. Instructions are stored in the CPU local memory 3 a, static memory 4, display adapter local memory 9 a, main memory 5, and/or mass memory 6 and are executed by the CPU 3 or the display adapter 9.

The static memory 4 may comprise read only memory (ROM) or any other suitable memory device. The local memory may store, for example, a boot program for execution by CPU 3 to initialize the graphics imaging system 1. The main memory 5 may comprise random access memory (RAM) or any other suitable memory device. The mass memory 6 may include a hard disk device, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a flash memory device, a CDROM, a file server device or any other suitable memory device. For this detailed description, the term memory comprises a single memory device and any combination of suitable devices for the storage of data and instructions.

The system bus 7 provides for the transfer of digital information between the hardware devices of the system 1. The CPU 3 also receives data over the system bus 7 that is input by a user through alphanumeric input device 10 and/or the pointer device 11 via an input adaptor 8. The alphanumeric input device 10 may comprise a keyboard, for example, that comprises alphanumeric keys. The alphanumeric input device 10 may comprise other suitable keys such as function keys for example. The pointer device 11 may comprise a mouse, track-ball, tablet and/or joystick, for example, for controlling the movement of a cursor displayed on the computer display 12.

The system 1 of FIG. 1 a also includes display adapter hardware 9 that may be implemented as a circuit that interfaces with system bus 7 for facilitating rendering of images on the computer display 12. The display adapter hardware 9 may, for example, be implemented with a special graphics processor printed circuit board including dedicated random access memory 9 a that helps speed the rendering of high resolution, color images on a viewing screen of the display 12.

The display 12 may comprise a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display particularly suited for displaying graphics on its viewing screen. The invention can be implemented using high-speed graphics workstations as well as personal computers having one or more high-speed processors.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the system 1 utilizes specialized graphics software which implements a user interface and related processing algorithms as described in subsequent sections to enable the user to produce works viewed on the display 12 and which may be stored in mass memory 6.

With reference to FIG. 1 b, the system may also operate in a networked environment of multiple computing devices. Specifically the system may perform certain calculations on a server device 13, which communicates via a network adaptor 13 d with a client device 14 which itself includes a network adaptor 14 d. The communication between client and server enables the method of the current application to be executed in a distributed fashion, with flexibility as to which of the two devices performs each step as will be described in further detail below.

Employing system 1, a collage or other digitally edited representation of multiple source data can be composed and edited. FIG. 2 shows a typical graphical user interface employed by a user to create and edit a composition. Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated LumaPix::FotoFusion™ interface. However, as will be apparent from the following description, the present invention is not limited to any particular user interface or application software package, and can be used in any system enabling the assembly of compositions of multiple source data objects exposing two-dimensional extents.

In some examples of prior art, assembling collages is achieved by manually adding images to a workspace in an iterative fashion. The workspace may have been pre-configured with a set of frames which accept the images into pre-defined positions and sizes, thereby accelerating the process of arranging the collage; this set of pre-configured frames is herein referred to as a ‘template’. A collection of templates may expose a variety of border styles (for example, blurred edges versus hard edges, blue versus red color borders around the images); however, in prior art the primary purpose of each template is to provide a set of fixed ‘pigeonholes’ which determine how a user-specified set of pictures will be arranged, thus reducing the amount of manual work required by the user.

In prior art, using a template with a set of selected pictures determines the size and position of each image in the resulting collage, with the end product matching the template layout precisely. In particular, should a template contain sufficient frames to hold ten images, then prior art methods may respond to attempts by the user to insert twelve images by creating an additional instance of the ten-image collage to hold the two extra images, or by reducing the list of source images by two images by some automated criteria or user intervention and continuing with ten images.

The method and system of the present invention improve upon this static definition of a template, in that the template instead defines guidelines for the production of a final collage which may contain any number of source images. The template may additionally include attributes such as border color and style, which are used as guidelines for the creation of variations upon a theme as opposed to exact duplicates of the template styles. Importantly, the user has the ability to iteratively generate new collages based upon a selected template and set of source images; the user can choose a favorite result from within the generated series of unique compositions, which vary within ranges allowed by the template.

In other prior art, software tools exist to optimize the use of wide-format paper when outputting multiple “jobs” to a printer, arranging those unrelated jobs (such as photos or text documents) to fit side-by-side on the printed output as opposed to beside one another (thus leaving less paper blank and wasted). Each of the documents to be printed must be printed at an exact size (number of square inches) and resolution (dots per inch) and without any modification to the document (e.g. cropping part of the image away to fit a space). As a result, the prior art produces a “best fit of images without affecting those images”.

The method and system of the present invention improve differ from that automatic printed document arrangement functionality by allowing cropping and scaling of the source images to take place. This allows the user to create compositions of interesting arrangements of images that appear evenly laid out, with uniform distances between all edges of all images in the collage. This effect is not possible unless the program is allowed to crop images to fit. The prior art for printing layout is a technical process designed to optimize paper usage; the current invention is an layout tool designed to present images in an aesthetic manner. The prior art must not affect the source images in any way; the current invention may crop and scale images as required to accomplish the goal of a uniformly-spaced layout.

The method of the present invention will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 3.

The method of the present invention commences at step 3 a, by selecting a set of images, with no bounds on the number of images in that set. As will be easily conceived by one of skill in the art, selection may take place via browsing the file system, conducting searches for suitable data objects, referring to a database of data objects, or other techniques. Alternatively, in this step, the user may elect to merely specify a number of frames as opposed to the specific images that will fill those frames. This enables the user to generate an ‘empty’ collage, ready for the introduction of images at a later time if this is desirable. In another alternative, the user may skip step 3 a and proceed to step 3 b, the selection of a template, which may suggest a number of empty frames in the absence of a number specified by the user.

The method proceeds to step 3 b, where in a preferred embodiment the user selects a template from a library of available templates; the library contains “styles” such as those shown in FIG. 4, where by way of example one template produces a ‘regular’ collage 40 (a grid-like arrangement where frames 41 do not overlap and have no rotation) and a second template produces a ‘free-form’ collage 42 (in which frames 43 can be rotated to any angle and empty space can exist between images). If the user chooses not to select a template, a default template may be employed. Step 3 b is itself optional, as the user may choose to simply apply an ‘autocollage’ tool, which uses the steps in the current invention to create an automatic layout to fill dimensions specified by the user.

The method proceeds to step 3 c, in which the user clicks a button 20 or otherwise indicates his desire to create an arrangement automatically. The system 1 responds by producing a collage in the style of the currently selected template, in a method described more fully in a subsequent section, and displaying it to the user for consideration.

In step 3 d, the user evaluates the automatically-generated collage for suitability. If it is unacceptable deficient under some criteria, the user may elect to regenerate a new collage using the same template (which in the current invention will produce a unique new arrangement with the same visual character as the current template) or alternatively to select a different template entirely.

The ability to generate a novel arrangement at this step 3 c in the method is unique among current art; indeed, because in existing art the generation of arrangements from a template in current art involves copying the arrangement and frame attributes from the template directly into the final collage, there is often no need in existing art for the option to regenerate the collage as this would produce identical results to the extant collage. In contrast, a user of the current invention can continue to request alternative arrangements and see a stream of unique variations upon the theme proposed by the initial collage.

Continuing to step 3 e, the user may elect to apply additional editing tools to modify the automatically-generated collage. Various techniques for accelerating the positioning of images within frames, and the subdivision of frames to hold additional images, are described in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INTERACTIVE 2D REGION SEGMENTATION”, USPTO application No. 60/446,751, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

At step 3 f, the user is satisfied with his composition and the process completes.

Alternatively, if at step 3 d the user is not satisfied with some aspect of the arrangement of his collage, the method proceeds to step 3 g in which the user determines whether the attributes of the template are acceptable but the specific arrangement is not (in which case the user proceeds to step 3 c), or the attributes of the collage itself are unacceptable (leading to the selection of a different template in step 3 b).

Finally, it is important to note that the user can add new images to the collage or remove existing images from the collage at any point through this process; for example, the user can choose to add three images to a collage already holding 10 frames to produce a new collage with 13 frames.

The method of the present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 5.

The user selects a set 50 of source images from storage, in this diagram by way of example a set of nine images labeled A through I. Note that the user may also elect to simply specify a number of images for the collage, which will be created with empty placeholder frames that can be filled in at a later time. The user also selects a template 51, in this diagram by way of example a template that produces regular, or grid-based, arrangements of images. Note also that the system 1 may provide a default template, removing the requirement for the user to manually specify a template at this step.

The system 1 automatically generates a collage 52 which has the following properties:

-   -   It is composed of a set of frames 53, each capable of holding an         image from the set of source images 50.     -   The set of frames 53 is of the same size as the same as the set         of source images 50 selected by the user (in this case 9         frames), unless the template includes an upper bound on the         number of frames a generated collage may contain (in which case         the system 1 may generate one or multiple additional instances         of the collage 52 as required)     -   The frames 53 are filled with the images A-I selected by the         user 50     -   The arrangement of the frames 53 within the collage 52 and the         attributes of those frames are within a threshold of the values,         or within the range of values specified by, the template 51         selected by the user.     -   At this or any subsequent moment the user may elect to         re-generate the collage; in the preferred embodiment of the         invention, he may indicate this choice by clicking on a button         20 with the pointing device 11 or a similar contrivance.     -   When the user so triggers a re-arrangement of the collage, the         results are generated by the system 1 in such a manner that the         newly-generated collage 54-59 vary from the original 52 in some         manner determined by the template 51, including by way of         example,         -   Variations (54, 55) in the order of image insertions into             the frames of the collage 52, such that the order of the             displayed images 50 but no other aspect of the collage is             affected         -   Variations (56, 57) in the position and size of frames             holding the source images 50         -   Variations (58) in the width, color, transparency, and/or             ornamentation of the frames holding each source image 50.         -   Variations (59) in the rotation of the frames holding each             source image 50.

With respect to variations in frame size, the template 51 may support specification of a fixed size (which would result in collages with evenly-sized frames, and a rectangular matrix of equally-sized frames if the template additionally restricts rotation to zero and arrangements to non-overlapping).

Additionally, the template may support specification of a distribution of sizes; for example, a template may specify that 20% of the frames in the resulting collage are four times the size of the smallest, and that 20% of the frames are twice the size of the smallest.

Variations of parameters exposed by the template may be computed by a variety of methods, including:

-   -   direct copying of a single value included in the template     -   random selection of a value within a bounded range specified by         the template, using a uniform distribution or one suggested by         the template for that parameter

With respect to variations in frame size and position, note that in most cases the overall dimensions of the collage extent 52 remain the same between variations upon the collage; alternatively, the user may enable the resizing of the collage based upon the shape of the images it contains. As illustrated in FIG. 6, an arrangement 60 of a set of image A-I has a particular size (in this case, the width of images A+B+C and the height of images A+D+H). The resizing of images D, F, I and H to form D′, F′, I′ and H′ respectively has been allowed to resize the collage to a new dimension 61 (in this case, the width of images A+B+C and the height of images A+D′+I′+G).

Referring once again to FIG. 1 b, it is noted that the execution of the method of this invention can be performed in a distributed fashion between a client 14 and at least one server application 13. Making use of such a network may be desirable for several reasons, including:

-   -   Application security. By placing the executable code to compute         the arrangement of the collage on the server 13, it becomes         impossible to create an unauthorized copy of the program (as the         user must connect to the server 13 to produce a collage, and         unauthorized attempts to connect can be detected and denied).     -   Efficient use of bandwidth. Consider a user who wishes to create         collages from a set of images that are available in advance (for         example, producing a visual selection list of items available         for sale that are listed in a central database of such items).         Working on the Client computer 14, the user can query the server         13 for a collage which is assembled by the server according to         the method of this invention; the resulting collage makes much         more efficient use of the bandwidth available via the network 15         than would be the case had the server 13 simply returned all         available images. In particular, the user can use the collage as         a ‘table of contents’ for selecting higher-bandwidth versions of         images available from the server 13. What is unique in this         method is the dynamic assembly of the collage by the server 13,         based on the unpredictable query he makes of the server's         database.

In a networked embodiment of this invention,

-   -   A. The code used to generate the arrangement of frames resides         on the server 13 B. The parameters of the creation of the         collage (the overall size of the collage, the template for its         creation, the image format to write the resulting image in) may         reside on the server 13 or client 14     -   C. The images used as sources for the collage may reside on the         server 13 or client 14.

The alternatives B and C are independent and result in different uses:

-   -   If the parameters reside on the client and the images reside on         the server 13, the resulting application allows a user to         compose a novel arrangement of images from a database. Examples         include the selection of wedding pictures from a web database by         a guest at a wedding: the owner of the pictures has a fixed set         of images available but cannot predict which pictures a specific         guest would be interested in seeing in a collage.     -   If the parameters and images reside on the client 14, the use of         the server to create the collage indicates that the collage         generation is a ‘web service’, in which the user does not have         to install the collage-making software on the client machine 14         but simply make use of a service available on the network.     -   If the parameters reside on the server 13 and the images reside         on the client 14, the user has the ability to select local         images and have a collage generated and sent via the network         which conforms to a style determined by the operator of the web         service. As an example, a real estate agent may take pictures of         a house and use a server-based collage generation tool to have a         collage with a visual style conforming to the format expected by         the realty company. 

1. A method for creating an arrangement of data objects in a computer-based editing system, comprising the steps of a. Defining a set of objects to be arranged, each object member of said set specifying an extent in at least two dimensions b. Automatically calculating and presenting an arrangement of said set of objects within an extent of at least two dimensions such that said arrangement of said objects fills said extent, optionally cropping said images as necessary to allow uniform spacing. c. Optionally, automatically calculating and presenting alternative arrangements of said set of objects.
 2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the data objects composing the set are two-dimensional images or image sequences.
 3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the step of defining the set of objects includes selecting a set of objects from a pre-existing repository of said objects, such as a file system.
 4. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the step of defining the said set of objects includes specifying a number representing the number of elements contained within a set of abstract objects, together with a dimension or range of dimensions representing the extent of each said object in said set.
 5. A method in accordance with claim 4, wherein the step of defining the dimension or range of dimensions is fulfilled with the utilization of a default value or set of values
 6. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the calculation of said arrangement varies one or more attributes of the arrangement in a random fashion
 7. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the user selects a template arrangement determining a set of attributes to be used in the calculation of a new arrangement.
 8. A method in accordance with claim 7, wherein said attributes include region border width and/or color and/or transparency and/or texture and/or rotation and/or size distribution and/or border shape.
 9. A method in accordance with claim 7, wherein the calculation of said arrangement varies one or more attributes of the arrangement to vary within a range of a canonical value for that attribute defined in said template arrangement.
 10. A method in accordance with claim 7, wherein said attributes include an upper bound upon the number of frames contained within the collage.
 11. A computer readable medium having computer instructions stored thereon for implementing a method for creating an arrangement of data objects in a computer-based editing system, comprising the steps of: a. Defining a set of objects to be arranged, each object member of said set specifying an extent in at least two dimensions b. Automatically calculating and presenting an arrangement of said set of objects within an extent of at least two dimensions such that said arrangement of said objects fills said extent, optionally cropping said images as necessary to allow uniform spacing. c. Optionally, automatically calculating and presenting alternative arrangements of said set of objects.
 12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the data objects composing the set are two-dimensional images or image sequences.
 13. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the step of defining the set of objects includes selecting a set of objects from a pre-existing repository of said objects, such as a file system.
 14. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the step of defining the said set of objects includes specifying a number representing the number of elements contained within a set of abstract objects, together with a dimension or range of dimensions representing the extent of each said object in said set.
 15. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the step of defining the dimension or range of dimensions is fulfilled with the utilization of a default value or set of values
 16. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the calculation of said arrangement varies one or more attributes of the arrangement in a random fashion
 17. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the user selects a template arrangement determining a set of attributes to be used in the calculation of a new arrangement.
 18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein said attributes include region border width and/or color and/or transparency and/or texture and/or rotation and/or size distribution.
 19. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the calculation of said arrangement varies one or more attributes of the arrangement to vary within a range of a canonical value for that attribute defined in said template arrangement.
 20. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein said attributes include an upper bound upon the number of frames contained within the collage. 